U.S. troops prepare for Bastille Day parade in Paris

A U.S soldier stands during a rehearsal for the French Bastille Day parade on Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, Monday, July 10, 2017. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus via the Bulgarian News Agency)via Reuters, the Associated Press, and the Bulgarian News Agency

Scores of United States troops, some wearing World War One-era helmets, marched in formation on the Champs Elysees in the early hours of Monday, July 10 in a rehearsal for the Bastille Day military parade, which will be attended by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Some 190 troops from the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force will march on Friday with thousands of French servicemen and women in the parade and U.S. planes will contribute to the grand flypast.

The troops included members of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, which was founded in 1917, the same year that the United States entered World War One.

Trump will be attending the July 14 festivities at the invitation of newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron.

President Trump accepted French President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to visit France on Bastille Day. According to the White House, "President Trump looks forward to reaffirming America’s strong ties of friendship with France, to celebrating this important day with the French people, and to commemorating the 100th anniversary of America’s entry into World War I.

"The two leaders will further build on the strong counter-terrorism cooperation and economic partnership between the two countries, and they will discuss many other issues of mutual concern."

 

U.S. troops, with soldiers wearing WWI helmets, walk on the Champs Elysees during a rehearsal of the traditional Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France, July 10, 2017. (Photo by Pascal Rossignol via Reuters )